After Montoya made the threat, the employee contacted police who immediately started investigating. They determined he had access to weapons and ammunition. Police said Montoya was angry that he was facing disciplinary action at the hotel near the Long Beach Airport when he allegedly said he planned a shooting attack.

Chief Luna said the man "had clear plans" and "intent and means" to carry them out, which could have resulted in mass casualty incident.

"He was going to shoot at fellow employees and anyone in the hotel," Luna said.

He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to jail records. He has no prior criminal history, according to police.

Several other cases of potential mass shootings being averted have made headlines in the wake of recent attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, with two arrested in Florida and others taken into custody in Tennessee, Connecticut and Ohio.